The old man sat at the table that had been such a small part of the biggest purchase he had ever made, but that was now all that was left of that deal, and for the first time he realized how much this table had meant to him;

He recalled when he sat there on the eve of his 47th birthday and fell into the looking glass, and for the first time he made a connection between that metaphor and the fact that this table is glass-topped.

He reflected upon the night, exactly 42 weeks to the hour after he had embarked upon that journey, when he was finally ready to leave his seat for a road trip, and for the first time he understood that it was the time spent at this table that had led him to know.

But most of all, he remembered the day he fell off his chair at the sight of those three little words, and for the first time it became clear to him just how big a role this table had played in his life.

And then he filled his glass again and thought he ought to write a poem about this table some day.